Neighborhood Next is a vision for redeveloping the Sports Arena site and revitalizing the Midway District in San Diego, California. Its purpose is to enhance San Diego's Quality of Life and share it more Equitably.

The Vision was prepared by a team of residents, designers, and developers who care deeply about the City. It was submitted to the City of San Diego on December 3rd, 2021, in response to the Notice of Availability to Lease Surplus Property at 3500 Sports Arena Boulevard.

To reach our potential as a leading global city with a tremendous quality of life, we need new places that focus on what really matters: More housing, vibrant walkable streets, and nurturing our homegrown talent.

To do that requires holistic solutions which address the housing crisis, take bold climate action, and provide opportunities more equitably to San Diegans.

This is about much more than building an arena or an entertainment district. Only a true neighborhood can help to heal the gaps in our culture, revitalize the Midway District, and preserve the things that are so special about San Diego.

Yes, there is hope! Did you know that the Midway District has a flourishing, but almost entirely forgotten history? It was once defined by a connection to nature, vital jobs, and housing for essential workers.

If we reconnect the site to its natural setting, return to a spirit of innovation, deliver much-needed housing, and seamlessly link to transit and bike + pedestrian networks, the Midway can become one of the most livable, convenient, and attractive places in San Diego. 

San Diego is in the midst of a housing crisis:

• The majority of our workforce struggles to find housing they can afford

• Employers struggle to attract and retain workers due to the high cost of housing

• New housing is being built far from employment centers, making our climate crisis worse as workers drive farther and farther from their jobs to find housing they can afford

• Homelessness is at the forefront of everyone’s minds

We believe the Sports Arena site, and Midway District is an ideal place to build the homes our community desperately needs. It is an employment center linked with light transit, and close to important regional amenities. There is an opportunity to make a real difference.

To maintain our region’s quality of life, our goal is to maximize community benefits, which include:

• Providing as many homes as possible, to help solve the housing crisis

• Utilizing site planning strategies that are inclusive by design, and encourage interaction between all residents

• Providing these homes at wide range of income levels to house our diverse workforce, including:

• At least 25% of these homes as affordable to lower income residents earning 80% or below AMI

• Homes for our “missing middle” earning 80 – 140% AMI

The Sports Arena plays an important role in San Diego's past, present, and future. It is time to refresh and re-envision the facility that was built over 55 years ago.

We believe the best way to maximize the Arena's value -and create an iconic place that we all love- is to collaborate with the City and Community to define a clear set of wants and needs for the venue. Then, Arena developers & operators will be able to present how they will satisfy those needs.

Using this process, we are proposing to deliver an Arena, and a World-Class fan experience as an integral part of Neighborhood Next. To oversee the process, we have engaged an experienced Arena advisor, who has performed similar work in California, and has been involved with over 25 arenas across North America.

We have already observed a variety of options, and changes, in what has been proposed for the Sports Arena. Our goal is to serve the City and Community by helping to identify what is best, then delivering the venue that San Diegans expect and deserve.

This is an opportunity to showcase our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We believe it is our responsibility to lift up the communities in which we work, and dismantle the systemic inequality that keeps BIPOC communities, low income residents, and others shut out of housing and job markets. We are committed to creating inclusive places.

Our team has a track record of creating high quality jobs - from Wakeland's partnership with the San Diego County Building Trades in National City, to Community HousingWorks' work with the Black Contractors Association, to PCL's extensive history of Project Labor Agreements.

We see opportunities in key areas:

• Prioritizing hiring and contracting opportunities for women, minority, LGBTQ+, and low-income residents, and working with partners who share this mission.

• Working closely with labor organizations to help implement the highest standard of hiring practices for construction and operations.

• Partnering with local Community-Based Organizations to engage in meaningful conversations about D,E,I and applying it's lens to all our decisions for Neighborhood Next.

This is a rare opportunity to deliver a meaningful place that provides a better quality of life for generations to come in San Diego.

We wanted to create a distinct place that San Diego needs, and San Diegans love. We sought out the most accomplished designers in the world at creating authentic, World-Class neighborhoods, and iconic Arenas.

We found them:

Gehl is world-renowned for their transformative master-plans and world-class neighborhoods that put PEOPLE and PUBLIC SPACES at the center. Gehl is focused on the built environment enhancing quality of life with livability, well-being, and inclusion.

3XN is an award-winning architect, known for people-centric buildings, iconic arenas, and breathtakingly beautiful designs. Like Gehl, 3XN believes that architecture shapes behavior and that PEOPLE are at the heart of great places.

We are San Diego locals, and we are global enthusiasts. Neighborhood Next brings together the best parts of cities from around the world and mixes them with the ingredients that make San Diego one-of-a-kind.

We believe that the beauty of San Diego goes well beyond our beaches and climate. We are defined by our diverse people, and unparalleled quality of life. We are entrepreneurs, essential workers, teachers, and students. We love our taco shops and yoga studios, our close-knit neighborhoods with character-filled homes, urban infill-developments, and corner bakeries.

We are observers of the Midway District's history: Native Kumeyaay settled a village near this site where they could hunt, fish, and thrive in nature. The Spirit of St Louis -Charles Lindbergh’s plane for crossing the Atlantic- was also built nearby. Why isn't the Midway more celebrated today?

We remember the Lind Block's impact: When a local team delivered mixed-income housing around a central courtyard and catalyzed Little Italy to become one of San Diego's most vibrant neighborhoods. Sound familiar?

We enjoy iconic corridors: From San Diego's El Prado at Balboa Park to La Rambla in Barcelona, great promenades define great places. They encourage walkability and mixing all sorts of people. They are locally loved, and global destinations.

Above all, we are inspired by the power of Neighborhoods to provide a sense of belonging, a feeling that stays with you, wherever you go.

We want to hear from you!

Please follow us on social media, or reach out to us via media link

We will be in touch, with updates!